Page 12 of The Hidden Daughter (The Lost Daughters #7)

When Amalie stepped outside, Oskar was already waiting for her.

She had a moment before he saw her, and she was able to drink in the sight of him—the way he stood with his hands in his pockets, staring out at the fjord, his back to her and the hotel.

There was something about him that made her want to know more, a way he made her feel when she was with him, and she’d be lying to say she’d thought of anything other than him all day.

She’d hurried through her work making beds and cleaning rooms, not hearing her name being called and missing half of what the other girls had said to her, because she couldn’t stop thinking about meeting him.

And now here he was.

Amalie cleared her throat as she stepped out onto the grass, smiling shyly when he turned.

But she needn’t have been shy or nervous that he didn’t want to see her, because Oskar returned her small smile with a wide one, his eyes lighting up.

It wasn’t like they hadn’t seen each other, either.

They’d been catching stolen moments all week, even if it had only been an hour to sit together after their shift ended, or for him to walk her the long way back to her room, but tonight was the first time they’d planned to spend longer together.

It was why her heart was racing and her stomach was full of knots.

‘I wasn’t sure if you’d come,’ he said, walking towards her.

He kissed her cheek and she breathed in the scent of him, her stomach dancing at the closeness of him to her body.

‘I was worried you wouldn’t be here.’

His laugh was easy. ‘Yet I came early just in case you finished ahead of schedule. When have I ever not been waiting for you when I promised to?’

He had her there. He’d been as reliable as clockwork, always waiting for her when he said he would be.

Oskar began to walk then, and she followed beside him, not touching but close enough that their elbows might bump, and every time he glanced at her she felt a now familiar warmth spread through her body. He was like no other boy she’d ever met before, and it both excited and terrified her.

‘Tell me how you came to work here,’ he said. ‘I want to know everything about you.’

‘I’m not all that exciting,’ she said. ‘I’m sure the other young women you usually meet are far more interesting.’

He shook his head and stepped in front of her, his eyes meeting hers as she stopped before him. ‘I wish you could see yourself how I see you,’ Oskar said, his voice low. ‘I knew from the moment I first saw you that you were special.’

Amalie glanced away, embarrassed but also flattered, and when Oskar took her hand in his, she let him.

If she’d been at home, if there was any chance of her parents hearing about her date or her sister seeing her, she’d never have let him touch her so openly.

But it was summer and she was far from home, and for the very first time she no longer wanted to follow the strict rules that were usually set for her.

She wanted to have fun and enjoy being herself.

‘Come with me, I have something to show you.’

She followed him to a spot on the grass, the farthest point from the hotel and the closest to the water, where a small basket had been placed alongside a folded blanket.

‘You brought these?’ she asked, looking between him and the basket.

Oskar shrugged. ‘I rushed down after my shift ended. I thought you might be hungry.’

Her stomach gave a little growl in response that made them both laugh, and he let go of her hand to throw the blanket out across the lawn. He sat on the edge of it and beckoned for her to join him and she did, tucking her legs to one side and shyly glancing at him again.

‘How about I prepare our food, and you tell me about your family. Where are you from? Do you have any siblings?’

Amalie could see from the way he was looking at her that he truly wanted to know about her, and she decided to indulge him, even though she couldn’t see what would be interesting to a man like him about her comparatively simple life.

‘I have a sister, Hilde, she’s older than me, and I’ve lived my whole life near Sandvika with my parents,’ she said, watching as he opened the basket and placed a plate between them. ‘Hilde worked here for three summers before she was married, and it’s because of her that I got this job.’

Oskar took out freshly baked bread, smoked salmon, cheese and some cold meats.

‘I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I packed an assortment of things,’ he said. ‘But tell me more. What was your childhood like? What are your dreams?’

She laughed. ‘My dreams? I don’t know if I have any. I know what’s expected of me, that I am to work to help my family, and then marry as best I can, but—’

‘You must have dreams,’ Oskar said earnestly, as if it wasn’t possible that anyone could live without them. ‘No one can take the things we dream of away from us, no matter how impossible they might be to achieve.’

Amalie sighed, suddenly sad as the weight of his words settled over her. ‘I did have dreams, when I was a girl. I wanted to ride horses and live in a big house, to stay in the types of beautiful hotels that the women in my family clean rooms in. But that was a long time ago.’

‘You don’t dream of those things anymore?’ Oskar asked.

She smiled, wondering if he was naive or simply a man so used to dreaming and knowing that those dreams could come true, that he couldn’t understand what her life was truly like.

‘I suppose I grew up and realised that that’s all they were. Dreams, and nothing more.’

Oskar took her hand and held it tightly, staring into her eyes. ‘How old are you, Amalie?’

‘Nineteen,’ she whispered, her words catching now that he was touching her again.

‘You’re too young to give up on your dreams,’ he said. ‘You speak as if you’re an old maid, not a beautiful young woman with your entire life ahead of you. Please, keep those dreams alive.’

Amalie laughed, but he pressed his palm to her face and looked deeply into her eyes.

‘Promise me you won’t give up on them, Amalie. We only have one life, and we have to live it in the best way we can.’

His eyes were wide and serious, and she bravely reached out her hand and placed it to his chest, feeling the way his heart was racing, sensing that he was burning with a determination and passion that was like a fire inside of him.

‘Tell me your dreams,’ she said, bravely. ‘Perhaps they will be contagious and help me find mine again.’

Oskar’s smile lit his face, and she immediately relaxed when he began to speak, far more comfortable listening to him than being the centre of attention and having to talk about herself.

She was also grateful for the chance to help herself to some of the food he’d brought, realising just how hungry she was from working all day without more than a ten-minute break.

‘I want to be a chef,’ he said. ‘I want to work side by side with the best chefs in Norway. I want to spend my days perfecting the most beautiful dishes, instead of studying at university.’

She nodded, swallowing her mouthful of salmon. ‘What are you studying?’

‘Finance and business,’ he said. ‘My father wants me to take over his business one day. He wants me to start working for him the day after I graduate.’

Amalie didn’t pretend not to know who his family were. They owned the sprawling hotel behind her and others that were renowned for being the most exclusive in the country—Oskar was heir to a substantial fortune. She’d heard some of the other staff talking about how wealthy he was.

‘They know you want to be a chef?’ she asked.

Oskar grimaced. ‘Oh, they know. Their compromise was letting me work here in the kitchen over the summer, as if I’d quickly tire of it if I spent long enough doing it.

’ He sighed and stretched out on the blanket, propped up on one elbow.

‘They like the idea of me learning from the ground up, working in the hotels and understanding the business from all sides, until I graduate. Then they want me in an office for the rest of my life, to take over the company one day, to follow what their dreams are for me.’

‘And if you defied them? When you left university?’ she asked. ‘If you made the decision for yourself and told them that you have a different life planned to the one they imagine?’

Oskar’s face crumpled. ‘I would be ostracised from the family, and they would make sure that I wasn’t employed at any hotel or kitchen in the country. I know because we’ve already argued about it.’

Amalie swallowed, feeling as if the salmon was suddenly stuck in her throat. The way he’d said those words, the pain held in them, told her that what he was saying was no exaggeration. ‘Your family truly holds that much power?’ she asked.

He nodded. ‘They do.’

‘And you believe they would exile you from the family like that? You don’t think it’s a threat and nothing more?’

Oskar’s laugh was shallow. ‘No, Amalie, it’s no threat. Once you meet my parents, you will understand.’

Amalie didn’t tell him that she didn’t ever want to meet his parents, that she disliked them already just from hearing how they held such power over their beautiful son and his destiny, but it did make her realise why he was interested in her dreams. Because it sounded as if his dreams might be as far-fetched as hers, after all.

She lay down beside him, the plate of food the only thing separating them, and reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his.

‘Tell me why you want to be a chef,’ she murmured. ‘Tell me all your dreams, Oskar. They’re safe with me, I won’t tell a soul. I promise.’

Oskar’s smile was sweet, his eyes softening as he blinked back at her, and when he pushed up slightly and leaned forward, bridging the gap between them, she let him kiss her.

And the way he gently whispered a kiss to her lips was even sweeter than his smile.